I should have protested, but instead I collapsed next to him.
“Yes,” I said, realizing how much it was true. Spence was crazy, unpredictable, and had a serious death wish at times, but I wasn’t his keeper and right now I really needed someone to talk to. “You are going to die when I tell you what’s been going on.”
“Like I’ve said before,” he began, making strained noises as he reached over me to grab a bottle of water, “never a dull moment with you, Eden.” He cracked the lid open, took a sip, and sighed dramatically. “Spill.”
“Thou art to me a delicious torment.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Hey, you get there okay?” Steph asked, sounding worried.
“Yeah. And thanks to you, we got to Lincoln in time too,” I said, hovering by the window that looked out over one of the hot springs…and more mountains. The cell reception wasn’t great in my room.
“No problem. I take it he made the plane, then.”
“Yeah, we all did, even Spence, though no one else knows that little gem of information yet.”
“Is Magda there?” she asked.
“Actually, no. She didn’t make the flight. Why?”
“Oh, just wondering. I, umm…I’ve been looking through some more of Lincoln’s mother’s company details.”
“Why? Steph, relax! Lincoln’s okay and Nahilius is gone—Magda returned him.” There was silence on the other end. “Steph?”
“Yeah, sorry, it’s just there’s something that doesn’t add up. I’ve still got Lincoln’s spare key. I was going to go back there after school.”
“I guess if you want. Just don’t mess anything up.”
I could hear her smile. “He won’t even know I was there. When do you think you’ll be back?”
“Couple of days.”
There was a knock on the door. “Dinner!” Zoe called out.
“Steph, that’s Zoe. I’ve gotta go. I’ll say hi to Salvatore for you and give you a call as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Stay alive.”
“Working on it.”
Zoe banged on the door again.
“Send Zoe my warmest,” she said sarcastically before hanging up.
Spence walked out of the bathroom, showered, changed, and looking ready for anything. He’d probably used all the clean towels. He struck a pose, hands on hips hero-style. “Let’s do this.”
I rolled my eyes. “You do this. Don’t speak like there’s an ‘us’ involved. I’ve got enough to answer for tonight without having to explain how you stowed away.”
“Good point,” he said, pulling the door wide open and greeting Zoe with a massive smile.
“Holy crap! You’re dead,” Zoe said, smiling like the fun had just begun.
• • •
The dining room was—no surprises—beautiful. All of the tables and chairs were wooden, of a heavy design, which made it look somewhere between an ode to all things natural and harmonious, and a tavern. By the time Zoe and I walked into the room, everyone was there. The scene struck a chord: the room full of part-angel warriors wearing silver leather wristbands made by angels, readying for the unknown.
My eyes found Lincoln’s and my entire being relaxed. As I watched, he seemed to exhale as well, and my heart forgot itself and skipped a beat.
About two seconds later, Lincoln’s eyes, along with everyone else’s, turned to Spence, who was standing behind me. I was quite sure I shared their look of surprise. Only I wasn’t looking at Spence.
Magda.
How the hell did she get here?
Everything had felt so much easier without her around. But there she was, tucked in close to Lincoln, looking devastatingly perfect. The rest of us were disheveled and exhausted, but Magda looked fresh in a recently pressed white sleeveless shirt and perfectly blow-dried golden hair. She was looking straight at me, an annoying smile playing on her lips as she absently caressed the sapphire on her necklace.
Zoe, the great friend she is, took a seat and pretended she’d been none the wiser. I couldn’t leave Spence standing there alone, so I just awkwardly hung beside him.
Rudyard looked at Nyla and then back to Spence. I was waiting for the eruption, for the massive blowout that was almost guaranteed. But Rudyard just picked up his fork and stuffed something that looked like it was wrapped in leaves into his mouth.
Nyla picked up some flatbread and broke it in half. “Hello, Spence,” she said, between mouthfuls.
“Hello, Nyla,” Spence said, gulping.
Griffin and Lincoln were exchanging glances, and then I couldn’t help but feel guilty when I saw Lincoln look back at me. I wished I’d been able to tell him about this somehow. But then he gave me a crooked smile. I didn’t know what to make of it. My eyes kept darting to Magda. I couldn’t really muster my own smile right now. Interestingly, I noticed Salvatore was looking at Magda with similar confusion. I wondered what problem he had with her.
“Did you enjoy your trip?” Nyla asked, still munching on her bread and reaching for the wine.
“I…um…It was fine.”
Poor Spence. This wasn’t going to plan. I knew he’d been expecting a big blowup, where he could just stand his ground, throw a hissy fit, and storm out.
“Rudy and I once did a stakeout in one of those military trucks. They can be awfully uncomfortable. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Busted.
“How did you…? I mean, yes. I’m good.”
Nyla took a sip of wine and passed the carafe to Rudyard, who proceeded to pour himself a glass. Every movement between them looked like some kind of perfect dance.
“And tell me, Spence, how did you get here from the airport?” Nyla asked, remaining tauntingly calm.
“I…umm…Bus, and then I caught a ride to a few miles out. I walked the rest of the way.”
“And the security—how did you get past the security?”
“Oh, well…I…I used a glamour,” Spence said, increasingly nervous.
“Hmm. You must be hungry. Are you hungry, Spence?”
This was torture.
“I’m okay,” Spence said.
“Get a bite to eat while you were in Violet’s room, did you?”
Holy crap! Look at the ground, look at the ground, be invisible.
“I umm…Violet didn’t know I was coming.”
“No. She didn’t,” Nyla said.
Nyla and Rudyard smiled at each other and then raised their glasses to Griffin. “You were right.”
Griffin looked up at Spence. He was on the verge of laughter. “You can’t lie to me, kid. We were on to you from the moment we told you you couldn’t come.”
Not the most encouraging news, given the secrets I was juggling.
“But then—why? Why didn’t you stop me?”
Griffin shrugged. “We can try and protect you, but in the end, you have to make your own choices.”
“Griffin reminded us, Spence, that that’s what it’s all about, after all. We can advise you and—while we are right and you are wrong—we decided in the end if you were determined enough to find a way into the battle, we may as well let you be of use,” Rudyard explained.
“So…I’m not in trouble?” Spence asked, looking seriously suspicious.
“Oh, you’re in trouble,” Nyla said, now a little more stern. “You’ll be stuck with double theory classes for the next month and, trust me, a world of pain awaits you in practical training, since I’ll be your new sparring partner. But for now, you’re here, so rest, eat, catch up on the intel, and be ready. You came looking for a fight”—she took a sip of wine—“congratulations; I believe you’re going to get one. But not from us.”
Lincoln pulled out the seat beside him. I didn’t need asking twice and quickly sat down.
“Did you know?” I asked quie
tly, suddenly wondering if everyone had been in on it.
“Griffin just told me before dinner,” he whispered back. His breath was warm and as he spoke, the hairs on the back of my neck spiked and a shiver ran through my body. “Should I be jealous?”
I was suddenly nervous—or guilty. I knew he was talking about Spence, but that wasn’t the cause of the guilt.
“We need to talk,” I whispered before standing and walking to the corner of the room. Lincoln followed.
“What’s happened?” he asked as soon as we stopped.
“It’s not Spence—I’m not, you must know—”
“I know. Tell me,” he cut me off.
“What’s Magda doing here?” I asked, unable to hold it back.
“Oh, she caught a commercial flight and arrived a few hours after us. Azeem sent a car to collect her. She got here about an hour ago.”
I knew she had every right to be here, but I was still angry at her for putting that gun in Lincoln’s hands and for always looking like she’d just stepped out of a salon and…
“What is it with her and that necklace anyway? Does she always have to be reminding everyone how rich she is?” It didn’t even matter, really. I just had to get in a dig at something.
Lincoln looked over at her as if only noticing this now. “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It’s a family heirloom, a Kashmir sapphire or something.”
I took a few calming breaths; I was being immature.
“Vi?”
“Oh…Sorry.” I was supposed to be telling him something. I took another deep breath and gripped my hands tight. “I saw Phoenix.” And before Lincoln could launch into whatever panicked conversation he was about to, I put my hand up. “Let me explain.”
He nodded, but his hands went into his hair before he threw them back down. He wasn’t happy. Not that I expected him to be cheering.
“I sensed him earlier, when I went out to do a security check with Nyla. I knew he was waiting for me and I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.”
I didn’t know how to say this, to admit to everything, and then I realized…I couldn’t. I’d rather pay for my sins later.
“I was just his messenger, that’s all, but before I told everyone else, I wanted to give you the heads up.”
“No more secrets, hey?” he said with a worried smile.
“Yeah,” I said, hating the fact that a better person would have told him everything.
Lincoln wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and drew me in, kissing my forehead. “Thanks.”
I wanted to throw myself in front of a train.
His hand moved down and wrapped around my waist as he walked me back to everyone.
“Griffin, Violet saw Phoenix; he has a message.”
Just when I was expecting Griffin to launch into a demand for a full play-by-play, he simply turned his attention to me.
“What do we need to know?”
The entire table was focused on me, everyone thinking something different. Judging me. I wanted to crawl into a hole.
“He said to do what we need to do, but by tomorrow night, he will have the Scriptures, and if we want any chance at getting our hands on them, we’ll meet him there in the evening. I think he needs us somehow to get them.”
“Makes sense if he isn’t worried about us finding them before him. They must be protected somehow,” Griffin said.
“One other thing: he’s been playing us the whole time. He gave us that information about the location on purpose. He wanted us to be here now.”
“Only more proof that he needs us.”
“Maybe we would be better off just leaving, then?” Salvatore suggested.
I wished I could agree.
“We are Grigori, Salvatore. We do not have the luxury of leaving things up to chance,” Nyla said.
Salvatore nodded and averted his eyes, ashamed for even considering it.
Griffin stood up. “Azeem has a team who is going to take us to the place of Moses’s final resting in the morning. We hope to discover indicators there that might show us the way to the Scriptures. Spence, a room has been made up for you; Ermina will show you to it after you have eaten. Everyone rest up—we leave at five a.m.” He threw his napkin down and looked over at Ermina, who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “Thank you, Ermina. Dinner was superb,” he said with a nod, and then he looked at Lincoln and me. “I’ll see you two in my room in thirty minutes.” It was not a request.
We both nodded. I guess he did have more questions and I was instantly nervous. I might be able to omit certain things when talking to Lincoln, but with Griffin, it was another story.
• • •
Magda didn’t even say hello to me. She spoke at some point to everyone else at the table, but never once did she acknowledge me. I guess I didn’t say anything to her either—but still. The only thing that made me feel better was the odd looks Salvatore kept giving her. There was definitely something about her that he didn’t like. Maybe Steph had said something to him.
Good, one down; six to go.
Thinking of Steph made me think of my normal life, which made me think of Dad. Which made me panic.
“I have to go. I have to call my dad,” I said to everyone, quickly pushing my chair back and making loud scraping noises on the ground. “Sorry,” I said turning to Ermina, remembering my manners. “Thank you very much for dinner.”
I hurried out and down the hall toward my room. I was due to call Dad. Transferring the home phone to my cell wasn’t a trick that was likely to work too well in Jordan, so my only hope was to call Dad myself. Steph had stopped by my house and left the phone off the hook. We figured if Dad tried to call there, he’d just get the busy signal and think I was gossiping to her. He didn’t have the commitment to keep calling. Either way, I was hoping if I called him first, he wouldn’t bother trying to call home at all.
When I got into my room, I grabbed my phone.
“Shit,” I said to myself, noticing how low the battery was getting.
I punched in Dad’s number, and while I was waiting for him to answer, Lincoln walked through the open door and sat down on the end of my bed. I put a finger to my lips. He nodded and remained silent.
“James Eden,” Dad answered.
“Dad, it’s me.”
“Hi, sweetheart. Your number didn’t come up on the phone. Where are you?”
“I took my caller ID off earlier,” I said too quickly. “I was, umm, playing a prank on Steph.”
“Oh, sure. Is everything okay?” He sounded busy and I could hear papers being shuffled about.
“Yeah, fine. I just missed you and thought I’d call,” I said, staying in the good corner of the room for reception, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell I wasn’t at home. I turned my back to Lincoln and ran my finger along the windowsill, trying to stay focused on the conversation with Dad instead of the fact that Lincoln was sitting on my bed!
“That’s nice, sweetheart. I miss you too. I can’t wait to get home. We’re almost all done here so I’m trying to get on an earlier flight. I could be home in a couple of days.”
Shit.
“That’s…great news.”
“Are you sure everything is okay? You know the Richardsons—”
I cut him off. “I know, I know, Dad—are right next door if I need anything.”
“Okay,” he said with a small laugh. “Just look after yourself. I worry about you. Have you been seeing much of Lincoln?”
“Oh. I, umm…” Lincoln kept looking in the other direction, but he was too still. I was sure he would know what we were talking about. “Umm…Yeah, a bit.”
“Well, you be careful. You know…Steph is the only one that has permission to stay overni—”
I cut him off again. “Dad! I know. Look, I have to go.”
“I’
ll call you tomorrow,” Dad said.
“Okay, bye.” I hung up. Mission accomplished—for today, anyway.
I put my phone down and rummaged through my bag in the hope that someone might have bothered to throw in my charger. No such luck.
“So,” Lincoln said, a smile creeping to his lips. “Why does Steph get permission to stay over?”
“Because she can be trusted,” I said, throwing a pillow at him.
“Hey, what’s that for?”
“Eavesdropping!” But before I got the word out, Lincoln was right in front of me, his arms wrapping snugly around my waist.
“I can’t help it if I have supernatural hearing.” He sighed deliberately. “You know I didn’t actually come up here to listen to you talk to your dad.”
My insides exploded despite the lingering bitterness of guilt nestled within. Lincoln moved a hand up my arm and across my face.
“Do you know how many times I’ve…”
I wanted to say, What? I mean, damn it, I wanted to know this stuff. But my mouth had gone so dry I couldn’t speak. Everywhere his hands went felt like they were awakening that part of my body for the first time.
“A lot,” he said. As if somehow I knew exactly what he was going to say and this was the answer. “You know, I should tell you. When you and I have kissed before, it’s been different.” His hands kept moving over me and I was struggling to remain upright, let alone focus on the words.
This was too much multitasking.
“Except for that time on your birthday, I don’t count any of the other kisses. I mean we’ve already established that healing kisses don’t count, right?” he asked, the edges of his mouth turning up. I needed to turn the air-conditioning on.
“Uh-huh,” was all I could manage.
“Uh-huh,” he mimicked, but much lower. Much sexier.
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